Architecture and methods for inter-carrier multi-media messaging

ABSTRACT

Architecture and methods to provide an intermediary model for inter-carrier Multi-Media Messaging (MMS) services so that numerous wireless operators can transmit MMS messages between them. The architecture also provides for delivery, at least of notification messages, to those wireless operators who are not part of the overall inter-carrier MMS infrastructure.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to Multi-Media Messaging (MMS)and more particularly to systems and methods for enabling cross-carriercommunication via MMS.

2. Background of the Invention

Multi-Media Messaging is viewed by Operators and End Users as the “nextgeneration” of messaging. Users may attach images, graphics, video, andaudio to the message in addition to text. Today MMS is still viewed as“picture messaging;” however, there have been increased usage of audioand video in addition to images and text in MMS messages.

As MMS has been rolled out by carriers throughout the world as well asin North America, the deployment has always been within the carrier'sown network first, then with connectivity to other carriers. Themethodology used has been direct connections—that is, each pair ofcarriers connect to each other. Direct connections are practical ifthere are only two or three carriers seeking to exchange MMS. However,if more carriers are involved, the economies of scale start to wane. Inseveral European countries, where there are only two or three carriers,direct peer-to-peer interconnection over MM4 for MMS interoperabilityhas operated relatively smoothly.

Notwithstanding this smooth operation, one of the major problems withthis arrangement is that there is no impartial third-party to mediateconnectivity between competitive carriers. In the past, the deploymentof interoperability has been delayed, which sometimes frustratescarriers who may be further along in their service offering than othercarriers. In addition, some European carriers have reported thatestablishing smooth interoperability is resource-intensive to set up andmaintain, especially when there is more than one peer carrier.

Each time a carrier sets up direct connections with another carrier,additional resources, time, and money must be expended. Given thatmultiple carriers must coordinate their launch plans, agree on anysettlement plans, provide for Network Operation Center (NOC) operationsand support coordination and their own technical interoperability issuesbetween carriers, it is not surprising that it takes significantlylonger for two or more carriers to launch cross-carrier services than itdoes for each of them to separately connect to an inter-carrierintermediary.

When two or more carriers connect to each other, there is the potentialfor competitive carriers to have some level of visibility into theother's operations—either positive or negative of other directlyconnected carriers. For example, if one carrier experiences problems ordowntime, those issues may be visible to competitors. Directly connectednetworks also offer opportunities for unsolicited SPAM. In addition,some carriers may opt to send MM message traffic to others' networks viathe MM3 interface, which could further open the possibility of SPAM.

A Global Roaming Exchange (GRX) Provider connection is a logicalalternative if all of the participants are GSM carriers. However, inorder to make MMS interoperability work, the GRX provider must alsodeploy specific routing and MM4 relay services. Furthermore, the GRXprovider must interact with any local number portability requirements. AGRX provider's purpose is to establish a connection between multipleGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks enabling subscribers toroam from one network to another and handling the billing settlement. Itis essentially a transport provider. Carriers must still negotiate andprovide “direct connections” to each other, but through the GRX, ratherthan direct connections (either with a VPN or private circuit).

The GSM Association's IR.52 document: “MMS Interworking Guidelines”recommends the GRX as the model of choice for MMS Interoperability. Inthe document, one argument is raised that GRX would be better than usingthe public internet to relay MMS traffic between operators; however, itcan be shown that in actuality, the level of security provided by theGRX is comparable with using Secure VPNs or private circuits over theInternet. Furthermore, each carrier connected must make sure that allsecurity holes are closed from their MMSCs. One key advantage of usingsecure VPNs over the GRX is that the GRX recommendations require muchmore substantial network management resources, resulting in greaterstart-up and ongoing costs.

In North America, SMS has been a model medium for wirelesscommunications. The successes over the last several years exemplify howa new technology should be introduced, then built upon, in the wirelessmarketplace. By understanding many of the lessons of SMS, the nextwireless messaging technology can play a central role in adding to theAverage Revenue Per Unit (ARPU) of wireless operators.

Intermediaries operating between carriers to facilitate interoperabilityof SMS messages are described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/426,662, filed May 1,2003 and entitled “Systems and Methods for Interconnecting HeterogeneousNetworks”, and U.S. Ser. No. 10/831,329, filed Apr. 26, 2004 andentitled “An Intermediary Network System and Method for FacilitatingMessage Exchange Between Wireless Networks”, both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

In the highly competitive landscape of the wireless industry, it isimportant for carriers to be able to confidentially execute theirnetwork operations. One of the hallmarks of a MMS Interoperabilityintermediary service is the ability to keep confidential informationjust that—confidential. For example, if one carrier experiences networktrouble, that fact is isolated from all other connected carriers.Traffic affecting results and issues should be mediated and isolatedfrom other carriers.

With a connection to a specialized intermediary, carriers can establishand work within their own schedules and support for inter-carrier MMS.Deployment and launch schedules are coordinated with a single source,dedicated to ensuring their customers are able launch services tosubscribers quickly. Furthermore, since the intermediary is impartial,messages may be delivered as SMS notifications to other carriers, whoare not yet connected to the MMS interoperability ecosystem. Therecipients may retrieve the messages from a neutral hosted Web portal orWAP portal, without regard to carrier.

An intermediary normally charges a small fixed per message charge or asliding scale of charges, depending upon volume. Charges typicallyaccount for less than 5-10% of retail pricing, thereby providing a costeffective alternative to in-house solutions. Intermediaries also providevalue-added services such as traffic monitoring, inter-network filteringand transcoding, and 24×7 NOC coverage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses inter-carrier or cross-carrierinteroperability for Multi-Media Messaging (MMS) and more particularlyto systems and methods for enabling cross-carrier communication via MMS.An intermediary solution offers a number of value-adds that neitherdirect peer-to-peer nor GRX providers can provide, including routingmessages via SMS to carriers that are not directly connected, messageretrieval, and services such as traffic analysis and visualizationsoftware.

In one aspect of the present invention, a method for providingmultimedia message service (MMS) interoperability among a plurality ofcarriers is provided. The method includes receiving an MMS message froman originating carrier, the MMS message being intended for delivery to arecipient subscriber of a destination carrier, and processing the MMSmessage for value-added functionality, where the processing includesquerying a carrier profile repository to access a carrier profile forthe destination carrier, the carrier profile including informationregarding whether or not the destination carrier is a connected MMScustomer. If the destination carrier is a connected MMS customer, theMMS message is sent to the destination carrier, and if the destinationcarrier is not a connected MMS customer, the MMS message is stored for aspecified period of time during which time the MMS message is availablefor viewing on an anonymous retrieval portal, and a notification messageis sent to the destination carrier to notify the recipient subscriber ofthe MMS message.

In another aspect, a method for providing multimedia message service(MMS) interoperability among a plurality of carriers is provided. Themethod includes receiving an MMS message from an originating carrier,where the MMS message is intended for delivery to a plurality ofrecipient subscribers, and processing the MMS message for value-addedfunctionality, where the processing includes querying a numberportability database to determine an identity of a destination carrierfor each recipient subscriber. If a destination carrier for a particularrecipient subscriber is the same as the originating carrier, then theMMS message is not forwarded back to the originating carrier, and if adestination carrier for a particular recipient subscriber is differentfrom the originating carrier, the MMS message is forwarded to thatdestination carrier for delivery and is stored for a specified period oftime.

In a further aspect of the present invention, an intermediary system forproviding multimedia message service (MMS) interoperability between aplurality of carriers is provided that includes a routing subsystem, anumber portability database, and a carrier profile repository. Thenumber portability database is in communication with the routingsubsystem and is configured to determine the identity of a destinationcarrier to which the MMS message is intended to be sent. The carrierprofile repository is also in communication with the routing subsystemand is configured to access a previously-stored carrier profile for thedestination carrier, the carrier profile including information regardingan MMS format acceptable to the destination carrier, and informationregarding whether or not the destination carrier is a connected MMScustomer. The routing subsystem comprises means for receiving an MMSmessage from an originating carrier, and is configured to determine,based on the carrier profile, whether to process the MMS message forvalue-added functionality before notifying the destination carrier ofthe MMS message.

The foregoing and other features of the present invention and theirattendant advantages will be more fully appreciated upon a reading ofthe following detailed description in conjunction with the associateddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inter-carrier MMS Intermediary incommunication with multiple MMSCs according to an exemplary embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram that shows message flow within aninter-carrier MMS Intermediary according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that shows how multiple recipients in asingle in-bound message are handled by an inter-carrier MMS Intermediaryaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram that shows message flow from anoriginating carrier through the inter-carrier MMS Intermediary to thedestination carrier according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Before an embodiment of the invention is described in detail, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limited inits application to the details of construction, the arrangement ofcomponents, and the arrangement of steps set forth in the followingdetailed description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried outin various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should notbe regarded as limiting.

The acronyms listed and defined in the table below are used throughoutthe following description: 3GPP Third Generation Partnership ProjectANSI American National Standards Institute ARPU Average Revenue Per UnitCD Carrier Database CDMA Code Division Multiple Access CP CarrierProfile EMS Enhanced Messaging Service FCC Federal CommunicationCommission GPRS General Packet Radio Service GRX Global Roaming ExchangeGSM Global System for Mobile Communications HTTP Hyper Text TransmissionProtocol MM Multi-media MMS Multi-media Messaging Service MMSCMulti-media Message Service Center MS Mobile Subscriber NOC NetworkOperation Center NP Number Portability NPDB Number Portability DatabaseSMPP Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol SMS Short Message Service SMSCShort Message Service Center UA User Agent VPN Virtual Private NetworkWAP Wireless Access Protocol WNP Wireless Number Portability

In an embodiment of the present invention, an independent MMS servicenetwork and system (hereinafter called “MMS Intermediary” or simply“Intermediary”) exists as a separate entity from the wireless carriers(or wireless operators) it serves. As such, the Intermediary is able toprovide a number of value-added services and capabilities that enablescarriers to deploy MMS interoperability quickly and reliably, andisolating competitive carriers from each other. It is ultimately up tothe destination carrier, once the message arrives from the Intermediary,to deliver the message to the recipient subscriber.

The Intermediary system and method is designed so that it may include anumber of extensible, value-added capabilities to provide additionalcommercial and technical functionality such as pre-delivery transcodingand filtering, additional message content (e.g. anti-spam or adultfiltering), and creation of specialized billing records. Theintermediary model architecture is specifically tailored to optimize theproviding of inter-carrier MMS messaging by providing intermediatestorage and queues and then performing various operations on the mediacomponents as required by the various value-added extensions.

FIG. 1 presents a diagram illustrating one exemplary implementation of asystem in accordance with the invention. The invention provides aflexible Intermediary 100 that interconnects multiple wireless carriers'Multimedia Message Center (MMSC) gateways 110, directly or indirectly,through other service providers, for the purpose of message exchange. Ascan be seen in FIG. 1, the MMSCs 110 of Carriers A, B, C, D, E, F, G andH each communicate only with the Intermediary 100, and therefore theinter-carrier network has an overall “star” or “spoke” architecture. Thewireless carriers can be North American wireless (+1 country code) orinternational wireless (non +1 country code) carriers.

Despite agreements among vendors with respect to standards, nuances ordifferences inevitably arise in actual implementations of differentvendors' MMSC platforms. These vendor nuances or differences (relatingto, as an example, specific MM 4 support) are then magnified by eachcarrier's own unique implementation of a vendor's MMSC platform within acarrier's network (involving, as an example, acceptable message size,image type, etc.). These factors, in the end, yield a significantinter-carrier or cross-carrier interoperability challenge—e.g., a firstcarrier's MMSC implementation may likely face a not-insignificant set ofinteroperability issues when trying to communicate with a secondcarrier's MMSC implementation. The problem comes to a head when a singlemessage has multiple recipients, each on a different carrier with adifferent MMSC implementation.

Because MMS messages convey message payloads containing information of akind well beyond simple text, the interoperability challenges becomesubstantive. Enabling universal access to multimedia content isimportant for the success of MMS. Without good interoperability, theuser experience will be nullified. For example, if a picture is sent viaMMS, the user desires that it look exactly as it did when sent, and ifit does not, the user is less likely to send an MMS picture again. Thesame applies to sound and video.

Messages can optionally be delivered to the destination carrier as alegacy message, in situations where certain media types are notsupported by the carrier. This capability enables the Intermediary toprovide a greater capability of delivery that would otherwise bepossible in direct-connection scenarios. For example, transcoding orother methods may be used to adapt an MMS message to a media typesupported by the recipient carrier, such as by removing color or depthfrom an image.

As seen in FIG. 2, the inter-carrier MMS Intermediary Service Platform100 contains a number of processes through which messages flow beforethey are delivered to the destination carrier(s) 110 b. An MMS messageis received from an originating carrier 110 a by an Inbound MessageValidation Subsystem 112 and directed to a Routing Subsystem 114, whichappropriately processes the message before sending it to an OutboundQueue 120 and to an Outbound Message Processing System 124.

In one possible implementation, the Intermediary Service Platform 100 isa facility that is itself encompassed within an intermediary facilitylike that described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/426,662, filed May 1, 2003 andentitled “Systems and Methods for Interconnecting HeterogeneousNetworks”, and U.S. Ser. No. 10/831,329, filed Apr. 26, 2004 andentitled “An Intermediary Network System and Method for FacilitatingMessage Exchange Between Wireless Networks”, both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The Routing Subsystem 114 comprises means for receiving an MMS messagefrom an originating carrier 110 a, and is in communication with aWireless Number Portability (WNP) database 130 and a Carrier Profile(CP) repository 132. The Intermediary 100 queries the Number Portabilitydatabase 130 to authoritatively determine the identity of the carrierthat is currently associated with (i.e., currently services) the addressidentified as a destination of the MMS message. The identity of thedestination carrier 110 b is returned.

The Intermediary 100 then queries the Carrier Profile (CP) repository132 for the CP of the destination carrier 110 b, and the CP is returned.A carrier profile is a highly flexible, easily extensible hierarchy ofdefinitional information that is specific to, or applicable to, a givencarrier. Exemplary information stored within a carrier profile includes,but is not limited to, information regarding whether or not thedestination carrier is a connected MMS customer of the Intermediary, andinformation regarding an MMS format acceptable to the destinationcarrier. Each carrier that is connected to the inter-carrier MMSintermediary platform is assigned a specific profile. The profileprovides a flexible configuration capability so that the message trafficfrom and to each carrier may be customized—as each connected carrier hasmultiple requirements.

Carrier profiles (CPs) are stored within an appropriate back-endrepository. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there could bemultiple entries for each of the different “levels” up and down thehierarchy, and that implementation of an Intermediary's CP repositoryloading/update process may include any number of channels or avenues,including manual (e.g., through command-line utilities or a Web-baseduser interface) and automatic (e.g., the programmatic exchange of datafiles or an on-line/real-time data feed), involving both theIntermediary and the involved carriers.

At this point, the MMS message is examined vis-à-vis the returned CP anda series of processing decisions are dynamically made. The routing unit114 is configured to determine, based on the carrier profile, content ofthe MMS message received from the originating carrier, and the format ofthe MMS message, whether to process the MMS message for value-addedfunctionality before notifying the destination carrier of the MMSmessage. The Intermediary's architecture is specifically tailored tooptimize providing inter-carrier MMS messaging by providing intermediatestorage and queues and then performing various operations on the mediacomponents as required by various value-added extensions.

Through examination of the destination carrier's CP, the Intermediarymay query whether the destination carrier is able to accept the instantMMS message as-is. If the answer to this inquiry is “yes” then the MMSmessage may be delivered to the destination carrier's MMSC platform viaMM4. If the answer to this inquiry is “no”, then the Intermediary mayiterate through the entries in the CP (in a defined, for example rankedor weighted, manner), to determine if a transcoding operation isapplicable to the current situation. If transcoding is applicable, theIntermediary processes the MMS message and delivers the transcoded MMSmessage to the destination carrier's MMSC platform via MM4.

Alternatively, or if transcoding is not applicable, a notificationmessage such as an SMS message or e-mail message may be delivered to thedestination carrier to inform the intended recipient of the MMS message.The MMS message is kept active in the data store for a specified periodof time, for example 72 hours, after which time the message is deleted.The Intermediary hosts an anonymous retrieval portal as an un-brandedwebsite, and during the time an MMS message is kept active, it isavailable for viewing on the anonymous retrieval portal. The intendedrecipient of the MMS message, using information supplied in thenotification message, can log into the anonymous retrieval portal toretrieve and view the MMS message.

The Intermediary also comprises a billing subsystem, that logs andrecords a Message Detail Record for each successful delivery to arecipient carrier. With reference now to FIG. 4, certain messages resultin billable transactions upon successful delivery by the Intermediary,such as:

-   -   MM4_forward.REQ successfully delivered to destination as MM4 or        SMS notification;    -   MM4_delivery_report.REQ successfully delivered back to        originating MMSC; and    -   MM4_read_reply_report.REQ successfully delivered back to        originating MMSC.

From this description, it can be seen that the Intermediary architectureis designed to include a number of extensible, value-added capabilitiesthat provide additional commercial and technical functionality, such asadditional message content (e.g., anti-spam or adult filtering),creation of specialized billing records, and pre-delivery transcodingand filtering like that described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/706,975, filedNov. 14, 2003 and entitled “System and Method for ProvidingConfigurable, Dynamic Multimedia Message Service Pre-Transcoding”, whichis incorporated herein by reference.

With reference back to the “star” or “spoke” architecture of theIntermediary 100 together with multiple wireless carriers' MMSC gateways110, the Intermediary is particularly well-suited to handle MMS messagesaddressed to multiple recipients subscribing to different destinationcarriers. For example, instead of an originating carrier attempting toconnect with and handle the interoperability issues of multipledestination carriers, the originating carrier need only direct the MMSmessage to the Intermediary, and the Intermediary will handle deliveryof the message to multiple wireless carrier destinations from within thesame originating message.

Multimedia messages contain certain standardized address fields,including: From—the address of the originator; To—the destinationaddress(es); and CC—copy address(es). The standardized fields andaccepted address formats are defined in the TS 23.140 (Release 5.4)specification from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),which is incorporated herein by reference. The 3GPP standards for theMM4 interface and protocol also indicate that multiple recipients may becontained in the incoming message. The Intermediary architecture is ableto provide delivery of these types of messages in a very configurableand flexible manner.

FIG. 3 illustrates how multiple recipients in a single in-bound messageare handled by the inter-carrier MMS Intermediary. Recipients areidentified as A1, A2, B1, C1, C2, and C3. The originating carrier 110 ais designated A, and the destination carriers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c aredesignated as A, B, and C. So, from the single MMS message addressed tosix recipients, Carrier A has two messages (A1, A2), Carrier B has onemessage (B1), and Carrier C has three messages (C1, C2, and C3).

When Carrier A originates the message, the MMSC for Carrier A notes thattwo of the message are destined for other subscribers on Carrier A, andthose messages are delivered by the originating carrier (Carrier A),before the message is forwarded to the inter-carrier MMS Intermediary.The Intermediary scans each destination address and looks up eachdestination address to determine the destination carrier. TheIntermediary platform provides internal routing logic to prevent“loops”—that is, if the destination carrier is the same as theoriginating carrier, then the MMS message is not forwarded back to theoriginating carrier, e.g., messages designated A1 and A2 are notforwarded.

If the destination carrier is different from the originating carrier,then the Intermediary queries the Carrier Profile repository for thecarrier profile of the destination carrier 110 b, 110 c. The carrierprofile indicates (among other information) if the destination carrierrequires a single message per recipient or can handle multiple messagesper recipient. The profile also indicates how each carrier will send MMSmessages—either as a single message per recipient or multiple messagesper recipient, e.g., the MMS message may be sent to a destinationcarrier (Carrier C) as one message which the destination carrier willdeliver to the recipient subscribers (C1, C2, C3), or as separatemessages individually addressed to individual recipient subscribers.

Regardless of whether or not a particular recipient's destinationcarrier is the same or different from the originating carrier, allrecipient addresses (including A1 and A2) remain in the message (ineither the To or From fields). All the addresses are retained accordingto TS 23.140 standards, so that the recipient(s) can Reply to All, thussending a reply to all of the other addressees indicated in the originalmessage's To and CC fields. Under the TS 23.140 standard, it is theresponsibility of the Intermediary to ensure that this message integrityis retained.

An exemplary flow of multimedia messages according to TS 23.140standards is illustrated in FIG. 4. A message from an originatingcarrier 110 a flows from an originating MMS User Agent (UA) 140 a,through the inter-carrier MMS Intermediary 100, to a recipient MMS UA140 b. A plurality of interfaces exist to allow communication betweenvarious entities in the structure, however this figure depicts onlymessages on reference points MM1 and MM4.

Reference point MM1 is used to transfer messages and data between acarrier's MMS User Agent 140 and MMS Relay/Server 142. This message/dataflow includes submitting Multimedia Messages (MMs) from the MMS UA 140to the MMS Relay/Server 142, pulling MMs from the MMS Relay/Server 142to the MMS UA 140, pushing information about MMs from the MMSRelay/Server 142 to the MMS UA 140 as part of an MM notification, andexchanging delivery reports between the MMS Relay/Server 142 and the MMSUA 140.

Reference point MM4 is used to transfer messages and data between theMMS Relay/Server 142 and the MMS Intermediary 100. As a securityprecaution, the MMS Intermediary 100 will only accept incoming messageson the MM4 interface. The MM3 interface is blocked as an anti-SPAMmeasure. Both Delivery reports and Read-reply reports are sent to theMMS Intermediary 100 via the MM4 interface by the recipient MMSRelay/Server 142 b and recipient MMS UA 140 b, respectively.

As seen in FIG. 4, when a mobile subscriber (not shown) sends an MMSmessage, it is transmitted to the Originator MMS UA 140 a, whichdispatches an MM1_submit.REQ request message to the Originator MMSRelay/Server 142 a. The Originator MMS Relay/Server 142 a then issues anMM4_forward.REQ request message to the MMS Intermediary 100, whichcontains the actual multi-media message to be forwarded, by the MMSIntermediary 100, to the destination carrier 110 b. The MMS Intermediary100 receives the MM4_forward.REQ request message, appropriatelyprocesses it (including, if applicable, transcoding, filtering,authenticating and routing), and dispatches it to the Recipient MMSRelay/Server 142 b for delivery.

The MMS Intermediary 100 requires the incoming MM4_forward.REQ requestmessage to include the MM originator of a routed forward MM in theaddressing-relevant information field(s) of the message. The MMSIntermediary 100 must have this originator information for billing andtracking; otherwise, it will not forward the message to the destination.If the originator MMS User Agent 140 a requested to hide its identityfrom the MM recipient, then the information about this request must alsobe conveyed in the MM4_forward.REQ delivered to the destination MMSC. Itis up to the destination MMSC to “hide the originator” from therecipient.

The MMS Intermediary 100 will request a MM4_forward.RES response messagefrom the destination carrier 110 b, by default. This enables theoriginator to gain detailed feedback about the disposition of themessage. The message may be rejected by the MMS Intermediary 100, atwhich point the MM4_forward.RES response message will containinformation as to why the message was rejected. The message can besubmitted to the destination carrier 110 b. When the MM4_forward.RES isrequested, the destination carrier 110 b is required to return thedisposition status of the message. If the message is rejected, theappropriate 3GPP standards status code will indicate the reasonrejected. If the message is successfully accepted by the destinationcarrier 110 b, the MM4_forward.RES message will be returned with a“success” status code.

Other messages supported by the MMS Intermediary 100 include:

-   -   MM4_delivery_report.REQ/.RES—This message request/response pair        is supported only in conjunction with support by the originator        and destination carriers. MM4_delivery_report.REQ will only be        delivered to the originator MMSC, if the originating MMSC is        from a valid MMS-connected carrier. These messages will not be        delivered as a SMS notification.    -   MM4_read_reply_report.REQ/.RES—Supported only in conjunction        with supported carrier. The MM4_read_reply_report.REQ will only        be delivered back to the originator MMSC, if the originating        MMSC is from a valid MMS-connected carrier. These messages will        not be delivered as a SMS notification.

The foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations andmodifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. Thescope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appendedhereto, and by their equivalents.

Further, in describing representative embodiments of the presentinvention, the specification may have presented the method and/orprocess of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps.However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on theparticular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process shouldnot be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps maybe possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth inthe specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims.In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of thepresent invention should not be limited to the performance of theirsteps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readilyappreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A method for providing multimedia message service (MMS)interoperability among a plurality of carriers, comprising: receiving anMMS message from an originating carrier, wherein the MMS message isintended for delivery to a recipient subscriber of a destinationcarrier; processing the MMS message for value-added functionality,wherein said processing includes querying a carrier profile repositoryto access a carrier profile for the destination carrier, the carrierprofile including information regarding whether or not the destinationcarrier is a connected MMS customer; if the destination carrier is aconnected MMS customer, sending the MMS message to the destinationcarrier; if the destination carrier is not a connected MMS customer,storing the MMS message for a specified period of time during which timethe MMS message is available for viewing on an anonymous retrievalportal, and sending a notification message to the destination carrier tonotify the recipient subscriber of the MMS message.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the carrier profile repository contains carrierprofiles for a plurality of carriers.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe carrier profile includes information regarding an MMS formatacceptable to the destination carrier; and wherein said processing stepfurther comprises transcoding the MMS message in accordance with thecarrier profile to generate a transcoded MMS message.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the MMS message received from the originating carrieris sent to the destination carrier via an MM4 message.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the notification message is an SMS message.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the notification message is an e-mailmessage.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying a numberportability database to determine an identity of a destination carrier.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising billing the originatingcarrier for delivery of the MMS message or the notification message to adestination carrier.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreporting delivery of the MMS message back to the originating carrier.10. The method of claim 9, wherein said reporting step comprisesreporting that the message has been read.
 11. The method of claim 9,wherein said reporting step further comprises billing the originatingcarrier for said reporting.
 12. A method for providing multimediamessage service (MMS) interoperability among a plurality of carriers,comprising: receiving an MMS message from an originating carrier,wherein the MMS message is intended for delivery to a plurality ofrecipient subscribers; processing the MMS message for value-addedfunctionality, wherein said processing includes querying a numberportability database to determine an identity of a destination carrierfor each recipient subscriber; if a destination carrier for a particularrecipient subscriber is the same as the originating carrier, notforwarding the MMS message to that destination carrier; if a destinationcarrier for a particular recipient subscriber is different than theoriginating carrier, forwarding the MMS message to that destinationcarrier for delivery and storing the MMS message for a specified periodof time.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising querying acarrier profile repository to access a carrier profile for eachdestination carrier that is different from the originating carrier, thecarrier profile including information regarding whether or not thedestination carrier is a connected MMS customer; and if the destinationcarrier is not a connected MMS customer, storing the MMS message for aspecified period of time during which time the MMS message is availablefor viewing on an anonymous retrieval portal, and sending a notificationmessage to the destination carrier to notify the recipient subscriber ofthe MMS message.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising queryinga carrier profile repository to access a carrier profile for eachdestination carrier that is different from the originating carrier,wherein the carrier profile includes information regarding an MMS formatacceptable to the destination carrier; and wherein said processing stepfurther comprises transcoding the MMS message in accordance with thecarrier profile to generate a transcoded MMS message for delivery to thedestination carrier.
 15. A system for providing multimedia messageservice (MMS) interoperability between a plurality of carriers,comprising: a routing subsystem comprising means for receiving an MMSmessage from an originating carrier; a number portability database, incommunication with the routing subsystem and configured to determine theidentity of a destination carrier to which the MMS message is intendedto be sent; a carrier profile repository, also in communication with therouting subsystem and configured to access a previously-stored carrierprofile for the destination carrier, the carrier profile includinginformation regarding an MMS format acceptable to the destinationcarrier, and information regarding whether or not the destinationcarrier is a connected MMS customer; the routing subsystem configured todetermine, based on the carrier profile, content of the MMS messagereceived from the originating carrier, and a format of the MMS message,whether to process the MMS message for value-added functionality beforenotifying the destination carrier of the MMS message.